November 26

"One good husband is worth two good wives, for the scarcer things are, the more they are valued."

--Benjamin Franklin; image from

"Indeed, the evidence supports the notion that male castration may be the ticket to a longer life."

--Thomas Kirkwood, "Why Women Live Longer: Stress alone does not explain the longevity gap," Scientific American (November 2010), p. 35

NEW

The Public Diplomacy Daily as shared by SU [Syracuse University] Public Diplomacy

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY IN THE NEWS

Cyber-Con - James Harkin, London Review of Books: “To the incoming secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, and her senior advisers the idea of doing foreign policy on Facebook threw up intriguing possibilities. Stripped of its air of gung-ho propagandising and reworked as a campaign for internet freedom in places like Iran, American outreach would sit very nicely with Obama’s campaign pledge to put a friendlier face on American power. ... But why did so many people want Twitter to win? For the US, bogged down in Iraq and Afghanistan, it’s easy to see the attraction. With the neoconservative plan to export freedom and democracy to the Middle East in ruins, it was cheaper and more subtle for the State Department to rally around the cause of internet freedom – to send in what [Evgeny] Morozov


[author of The Net Delusion: The Dark Side of Internet Freedom] calls the ‘cyber-cons’. ... In the conspiracy mills of the Middle East, campaigns for internet freedom are denounced as cover for America’s broader agenda, the stalking horse for a shady new military-Twitter complex.” Via CB on Twitter. Morozov image from. See also John Brown, "What's important, what's happening, and what's public diplomacy"; "Twittering; or, Where are the Emily Dickinsons at the State Department?", Huffington Post

Facebook, Twitter and the Search for Peace in the Middle East - Arianna Huffington, Huffington Post: "[T]hough, as we've seen, technology can be used to terrorize and divide, social media, by its nature, tilts toward bringing down barriers and connecting people. Which is what is starting to happen in the Middle East -- a powerful tool in the crucial battle for hearts and minds being waged between the terrorists and the moderates. No longer is our best hope for change in the region the far-too-often failed process of our government pressuring their governments. If fundamental change happens, it's going to come from the bottom up -- with social media fueling the transformation." Via LB

Obama Lacks Credibility in Invoking Reagan’s Comment about Russia - Ted Lipien, govoritamerika.us: "The U.S. President became the Kremlin’s biggest ally in the Russian attempt to weaken American influence in the world and to enhance Russia’s political and military role. In dealing with Mr. Obama, Prime Minister Minister Putin and President Medvedev have adopted Stalin’s policy of making outrageous claims and using intimidation to get their way with the U.S. President and America’s allies. Their sense of security has been weakened by the decisions of his Administration, thus making them more vulnerable to political, military or economic blackmail from Moscow.


The intimidation strategy, reinforced by propaganda and public diplomacy, seems to work for dictators and authoritarian rulers when used against weak leaders. Hitler and Chamberlain, Stalin and FDR, Putin and Obama. ... The propaganda experts at the Kremlin understand and know how to take advantage of President Obama’s weakness and his psychological need to show some positive results of his 'reset' policy with the Kremlin. Ex-KGB officers like Prime Minister Putin still use Stalin’s intimidation tactics by bombarding the media, the White House, the State Department with increasingly outrageous statements, gestures, and demands — tactics that had worked well in the Soviet dictator’s dealings with FDR and are working again since the Obama Administration took office." Image from article

2011 - 'U.S. Govt to Monitor Polls' - Ibrahim Shuaibu, allafrica.com: "The Deputy Assistant Secretary for Africa on public diplomacy, Mr. Bruce Wharton has said that the U.S government has no right to interfere in the selection of candidate or to decide who to be elected. He said that Nigeria occupies's a very important place in the U.S policy, stating that the upcoming election will only be free and fair if the registration process is transparent, pledging to offer all the necessary support towards actualizing credible election in the country. Speaking in Kano yesterday when he paid a courtesy call on the Freedom Radio FM, the U.S Deputy Assistant Secretary for Africa on pubic diplomacy reiterated that United States Government commitment and concerns the future of the country and the people of Nigeria, because of its important in international policy."

U.S. Department of State’s Cultural Heritage Center Recognized with Heritage Award for International Excellence - Tabitha Berg, eNewsChannels: "The U.S. National Committee of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (US/ICOMOS) has recognized the U.S. Department of State’s Cultural Heritage Center with the first annual Heritage Award for International Excellence.

Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Ann Stock received the award on behalf of the Cultural Heritage Center on November 9th at a dinner and ceremony at the Cosmos Club in Washington, DC. The award recognizes organizations, programs, projects, individuals, and publications that exemplify worldwide excellence in the protection, revitalization, or interpretation of the world’s historic monuments and sites; or that educate the public about global heritage or otherwise further the goals of the World Heritage Convention. As part of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the Cultural Heritage Center supports the foreign affairs functions of the U.S. Department of State that relate to the preservation of cultural heritage." Image from article

Embassy Sites Need Revamp - rory2122, middleeastdiscussiongroup.wordpress.com: "I randomly decided to check out the U.S. Embassy in Egypt’s website. It looks functional and not really different than any embassy website I’ve visited…but that’s the problem. In a region where U.S. foreign policy is generally unfavored or misunderstood, shouldn’t there be a 'full court press' effort to create a really engaging, interactive site that represents the dynamic and creative society that’s present in this country? This site just seems totally stale and unimaginative. How about we put the legions of graphic designers, artists, creative thinkers and marketing wizards at our disposal to create a 21st century site in every country that’s a priority to American interests? But hey, at least the Egypt site is advertising the Rat Pack Tribute Show (with showgirls dancers) – hmm, perfect use of our public diplomacy budget!"

RT (Russia Today) reporters arrested at Fort Benning demonstration; CPJ, OSCE, others protest - Kim Andrew Eilliott reporting on International Broadcasting

Robert Simmons: NATO interested in resolution of S.Caucasus conflicts‎ - Trend News Agency: "NATO is interested in the resolution of conflicts in the South Caucasus region, NATO Secretary General's Special Representative for the South Caucasus and Central Asia Robert Simmons said at the discussions held with the Azerbaijani, Georgian and Armenian public members at the NATO headquarters in Brussels.


'The alliance's Lisbon summit fixed that the conflicts in South Caucasus should be resolved in the framework of the territorial integrity of states,' Simmons said. ... Brussels hosted the discussions between NATO and the Azerbaijani, Georgian and Armenian public members over the conflicts in South Caucasus. The discussions were held in the framework of the NATO - South Caucasus cooperation in the field of public diplomacy. ... Following the discussions with the NATO officials, the Azerbaijani delegation held a meeting with Azerbaijani diplomats at the Azerbaijan representation at NATO. During the meeting, the delegation mulled the Azerbaijan representation's activity, NGOs co-operation and joint projects with the NATO structures and NATO's Public Diplomacy, as well as exchanged views on the direction of the activity." Image from

Australia Network contract up for bid. Sky News likely to compete with incumbent ABC (updated) - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting

Foreign affairs and the challenge of open government - Peter Timmins, foi-privacy.blogspot.com: The Lowy Institute Policy brief on E-diplomacy by Fergus Hanson points out how the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade could and should embrace internet technology in pursuing diplomatic objectives by improving internal debate, communication with stakeholders and public diplomacy through web presence, social media, blogs and wikis. Here's Hanson's three minute summary.


However this isn't simply a matter of getting with the digital revolution. The possibilities flagged raise issues that challenge culture and practice in an area where secrecy or at least caution about disclosure is close to the default position, and concern for foreign government sensibilities sometimes prevails over any public interest in our right to know. The brief doesn't mention this cultural problem." Image from

'Shortsighted' Treasury bids to tax foreign reporters‎ - Rebecca Anna Stoil, Jerusalem Post: "In a move that some MKs warn could irreparably tarnish Israel’s international image, the Treasury is seeking to rescind foreign reporters’ tax exemptions via the economics arrangements bill that is now under review in the Knesset. ... The tax exemption is also likely to be raised during Tuesday’s meeting of the Knesset Immigration, Absorption and Public Diplomacy Committee, which is scheduled to discuss issues facing Israel-based foreign journalists and presenting Israel’s case in the foreign media. ... Committee chairman Danny Danon (Likud) said, 'As someone who deals with public diplomacy issues on a daily basis, I am aware of the importance of working and cultivating the relationship with foreign journalists who are in Israel. This bad decision has no budgetary benefit, but it sends a message to the reporters that we do not value their presence in Israel.' According to Danon, “if this decision convinces even one reporter to move away from Jerusalem to the Palestinian Authority, it will be a waste for our public diplomacy efforts. As of today, some reporters spend too much time already in the lobby of


the American Colony [hotel in east Jerusalem] rather than meeting with Israeli decision- makers.” Image from

Egypt - Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs and UN Special Envoy to Somalia discuss the developments on Somalia - isria.com: "Assistant Minister Ambassador Wafaa Baseim received the new UN Special Envoy to Somalia Ambassador Augustine Mahiga from 22nd to 24th February 2010 on his first visit to Egypt since assuming his position. ... [T]he meeting tackled the piracy issue and the relevant recent developments of such phenomenon. ... She also pointed out the Egyptian role in raising the Somali people and regional and international awareness with the risks of such phenomenon and the importance of combating it throughout Egypt's chairmanship of Working Group IV on the facets of media and public diplomacy in fighting against piracy in the framework of the International Contact Group to combat piracy off the Somali coast."

On Indonesia and Pakistan - Paul Rockower, Levantine: "I feel like Indonesia is quite similar to the Pakistan I got to see firsthand, the Pakistan that doesn’t make the news. I find it sad that Pakistan is toxic in public diplomacy terms while the majority of its society is closer to that of Indonesia. I feel like Pakistan could do some wonderful cultural diplomacy with Junoon concerts and events here in supermusical Indonesia; Pakistanis would probably like Indonesia’s inel music that mixes subcontinent and middle east with its own easy Southeast Asian style. Both would probably dig each other’s gastrodiplomacy, and they could swap cloves for bidis when done with the meal."

Indonesia image from

South Africa - Department of International Relations and Cooperation confirms the appointment of Deputy Director General Public Diplomacy - isria.com: "The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) confirms the appointment of Mr Clayson Monyela as the Deputy Director-General for the Branch Public Diplomacy as announced by Cabinet after a meeting held in Pretoria on 24 November 2010. It is against this backdrop that Mr Clayson Monyela will be responsible for the overall strategic management and policy direction of the Departmental Public Diplomacy Branch so as to attain departmental goals and objectives. Mr Monyela brings to DIRCO


a wealth of experience as a government communicator that will help the Branch Public Diplomacy in accomplishing its objectives of profiling the departmental activities and political principals both home and abroad." DIRCO image from

The next time Iverson - Gümüş Takılar, Fashion l Style l Trendy: "Public diplomacy in Turkey, Turkish Ambassador to Washington last year started Namik Tan, the project as a pillar of social media, Twitter diplomacy has passed. Embassy; web page, Facebook and Twitter'la trio launched a virtual communication model. Ambassador Tan, Teacher's Day at his mother congratulated on twitter. 'Fine mother .. Dear teacher! .. Happy Teacher's Day .. Your son and his students, Namik Tan.'"

ProPublica and National Endowment for Democracy trade assertions about NED and about Democratic Voice of Burma - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting

Public Diplomacy - Janko, The New Diplomacy C: A reflective group blog by some of the students on The New Diplomacy module at London Metropolitan University: "Public diplomacy is very important because provide necessary information and help to build relationship and positive image in a particular country."

77. Tayyibah Taylor (Editor-in-Chief, Azizah Magazine) - Muslim Heroes: "Tayyibah Taylor is the founding editor-in-chief and publisher of Azizah Magazine, the voice of Muslim American women and recipient of a 2009 New American Media National Ethnic Journalism Award. ...


Born on the island of Trinidad, Ms. Taylor grew up in Canada, studying biology and philosophy at the University of Toronto. She also attended classes at King Abdul-Aziz University for Arabic and Islamic Studies in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. She has traveled to 31 countries, including five interfaith pilgrimages to Europe and the Middle East and also in the capacity of a public diplomacy envoy." Taylor image from article

International Relations Officer Job Description, Education and Training Requirements, Career, Salary, Employment, Definition and Nature Work - Maxizip.com: "Public Diplomacy Officers must keep open the lines of communication between the U.S. and the host country. The overall management of a mission’s public diplomacy program is in their hands. They are charged with explaining and defending the content of U.S. foreign policy as well as providing foreign nationals with an understanding of the social and cultural context of U.S. foreign policy. They accomplish this by providing their host country contacts with a complete picture of American values, beliefs, and principles not only those which help fashion U.S. domestic political policy but foreign policy as well."

Review: CliffsTestPrep Foreign Service Officer Exam: Preparation for the Written Exam and the Oral Assessment - Public Relations Insider: "...Part I: Written Exam: The Job Knowledge Test * Descriptions of the five general career track knowledge areas–management, consular, economic, political, and public diplomacy."

RELATED ITEMS

The Role of Psychological Operations in Strategic Communications - Event Details, Thursday, Dec 02, 2010, Heritage Foundation: In an era where states’ borders are blurred by culture and ideology, it is important to understand the evolution of psychological operations in the U.S. military as well as the role it plays in strategic communications. Understanding foreign publics and conveying information to them now involves a higher level of information collection and sophisticated analysis. This complex situation requires a unique skill-set for officers, one that too few possess. It also demands close coordination with other agencies so to maintain consistency and accuracy. Join us as our panel of experts assesses the challenges and successes of psychological operations and its role in strategic communications.

Yemen: Islam's Billy Graham takes on Al Qaeda: Amr Khaled joins Yemeni government in huge media campaign to counter Al Qaeda - Tom Finn, Global Post: Marking a shift in strategy, the Yemeni government has launched a coordinated media campaign aimed at countering the message of an increasingly active Al Qaeda offshoot, recruiting one of the Arab world’s most popular televangelists in the process.


Amr Khaled, a charismatic and moderate Egyptian preacher, is known as the Arab world’s Billy Graham. Khaled, together with the Yemeni government and numerous local media outlets, this week launched a full-scale media blitz to protect the country’s large, and often disenfranchised, population of young people from Al Qaeda’s extremist ideology. Image from article: Egyptian Islamic preacher Amr Khaled at a press conference in Cairo in 2006.

Palestinian Youth Reveal Their Fanaticism With Every Tweet - Jonathan Schanzer, National Post, schanzer.pundicity.com: Hamas recently launched an initiative to "intensify its use of the Internet for spreading Islamic values and religion," Israeli security services reported last month. The Palestinian terrorist group, best known for its suicide bombings against Israelis, is increasingly turning to the internet for da'wa — religious outreach — to sell more Palestinians on its toxic mixture of irredentism, Islamism and violence. But just how prevalent is the Hamas point of view online? And does it translate to radicalism on the Arab street? Palestinian pollsters would have us believe that a majority of West Bankers and Gazans seek peace with Israel. Indeed, the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research recently found that 57% of Palestinians support the latest U.S.-backed peace initiative. However, a recent study we conducted at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies reveals that the Palestinian social media environment is dominated by radical sentiment. Via DK on facebook

Indian media’s malicious propaganda against Pakistan: Sikh Yatrees - khalistantimes.com: As many as 2671 Sikh pilgrims left for Lahore through three special trains on Thursday. Talking to newsmen on the occasion, the Sikh yatrees said Indian media was working on a propaganda against Pakistan but they had detected no terrorist activity and element during their stay. They expressed complete satisfaction over the security arrangements and lauded the efforts of concerned departments in this regard.

Russia's parliament says Katyn massacre was a direct order of Stalin - Deutsche Welle: Russia's lower house of parliament, the Duma, voted on Friday to approve a declaration that the 1940 massacre of some 20,000 Polish officers in the Katyn forest in western Russia was a direct order of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin.


During the Soviet era, propaganda blamed the killings on the Nazis. It wasn't until 1990, just before the collapse of the Soviet Union, that the country's leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, admitted the Soviet role. Russian officials, however, had been reluctant to admit that the massacre was an order from Stalin or the Soviet leadership. Stalin image from article

Russia's child terror spies - croatiantimes.com: Russia's secret police are recruiting schoolchildren in the war on terror - with a series of cartoons on how to spy on bombers. The eight 20-second cartoons - on show in cinemas, TV and schools - show a lad outwitting a terrorist and informing on him to Russia's FSB spooks, successors to the KGB.


Other films show the seven-year-old hero setting up a roadblock around a suspicious package and spying on neighbours to see if they have weapons stashed in their loft and basement. He is finally shown receiving a medal from grateful police chiefs while a man sporting a Muslim-style moustache is led away in handcuffs. Critics claim the cartoons will cause paranoia among children and lead to Hitler Youth-style spying by youngsters. Intelligence services expert Andrei Soldatov said: "This is complete propaganda and makes people more suspicious and increases the number of unwittingly false calls from frightened children." Image from article

Chinese propaganda is now art - Natalie North, Victoria News: Richard King collected an assortment of cheery communist propaganda posters in the 1970s. The posters, worth pennies at the time, literally illustrate the political climate of the day. King, an Asian and Pacific studies associate professor at the University of Victoria, will display his posters at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria. They’ll be part of an exhibit called Communist Paradise: Chinese Propaganda Posters, which runs from Nov. 26 through Feb. 6, 2011.


Image from article: The caption for this Chinese propaganda poster from 1970 is “Win honour for the great leader Chairman Mao, win honour for socialism.”

Second World War classic a testament to director's talent - Jamie Portman, Postmedia News: He made one of the most entertaining wartime propaganda movies of all time -- but now it's largely forgotten. That's why Criterion deserves a big bouquet for dusting off Night Train to Munich


and reissuing it in a DVD edition that gives further insight into the remarkable career of filmmaker Carol Reed. Night Train to Munich, which began shooting only weeks after war was declared against Germany and was released in June 1940, in the wrenching aftermath of the Dunkirk evacuation. These were dark days for England -- but they were brightened by the arrival of Night Train to Munich, with its escapist blending of comedy, romance and thrills. Image from

New DVD explores the legacy of Nazi propaganda - Robert W. Butler, The Kansas City Star: Veit Harlan rivaled documentarist Leni Riefenstahl as the Third Reich’s most successful filmmaker. Harlan’s 1940 release, “Jew Suss,” a costume drama whose title character, Suss, was a venal Jewish financier with a taste for virginal girls, was a huge hit throughout Europe. Seen today, it reeks of over-the-top melodrama, yet back then it was a key element in Hitler’s “final solution,” suggesting to viewers the existence of a vast Jewish conspiracy to bring down the Aryan race. “Jew Suss” changed minds.


Or at least it allowed millions to wear their anti-Semitism proudly. Felix Moeller’s “Harlan: In the Shadow of ‘Jew Suss’” examines Harlan and his film (it’s been suppressed for most of the last 60 years). Image from

ONE MORE QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

"If we are to secure the friendship of the Arab, the African, and the Asian — and we must, despite what Mr. Dulles says about our not being in a popularity contest — we cannot hope to accomplish it solely by means of billion-dollar foreign aid programs. We cannot win their hearts by making them dependent upon our handouts. Nor can we keep them free by selling them free enterprise, by describing the perils of communism or the prosperity of the United States, or limiting our dealings to military pacts. No, the strength of our appeal to these key populations — and it is rightfully our appeal, and not that of the Communists — lies in our traditional and deeply felt philosophy of freedom and independence for all peoples everywhere. Perhaps it is already too late for the United States to save the West from total catastrophe in Algeria. Perhaps it is too late to abandon our negative policies on these issues, to repudiate the decades of anti-Western suspicion, to press fi rmly but boldly for a new generation of friendship among equal and independent states. But we dare not fail to make the effort."

--John F. Kennedy, in his 1957 Senate speech “Imperialism — The Enemy of Freedom"; via GG on facebook